Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 816 Hardworking people

"Official robes changed to dark green?" The Salt Supervisor An took a breath of cold air. He, the Salt Supervisor, was promoted from the seventh rank, and the dark green official robe was the lowest level of the sixth rank. Wang Wenzuo was equivalent to a super promotion. He did. He hesitated for a moment, but the desire to be promoted still overwhelmed the caution of self-preservation: "Then how can I change into a green robe?"

"Okay!" Wang Wenzuo laughed. The older he gets, the more he likes this kind of subordinates with ideas. Without him, he can drive them to work hard as long as they draw the pie. Who doesn't like it?
"It's very simple. Cangzhou will become an important town in the salt industry in the future. And I don't plan to run it as a government-"

"We don't plan to run it as an official!" Salt Supervisor An raised his head in surprise. No wonder he was so surprised. As a local salt industry official in Cangzhou, he certainly knew how much manpower and material resources Wang Wenzuo had invested in the salt industry. He had invested so much. With resources but no official business, isn’t it just making wedding clothes for others?

"Not bad!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "If it is a government-run operation, I am afraid that the salt produced in the end will be inferior and the price will be high. It is better to change it to a private operation to produce good salt."

"That's what the general said!" An Salt Supervisor said carefully: "Many government-run salt farms have the disadvantages of lining their own pockets, and officials do not know how to operate salt farms. They are indeed inferior to private ones. However, according to what I have seen, the government has invested heavily in the Cangzhou Salt Farm. There are so many. If it were left to the private sector, wouldn’t these investments be in vain?”

"You are very considerate! Of course, these things are not in vain. I plan to divide the built salt flat into several sections, and merchants who are interested in running it can bid for it, and the one with the highest price will win. The government can also recover the cost through this , and even make a fortune! Then develop the next section of the beach!”

"This -, this -, you can actually do this? I really didn't expect that the general is really a genius, and he has discovered things that no one has done before!"

Wang Wenzuo smiled. What he is doing now is similar to the "three connections and one leveling" implemented by the local government before the crossing. That is, the roads and rivers are cleaned up, and the foundations for salt flats and windmills are laid. Then they are handed over to private businessmen for bidding and operation, and the government takes them back. Development costs, then develop the next section of beach, rolling development. Or it could be split into shares, and the government would act as a strategic investor, not participating in the operation and only receiving dividends. This series of gameplay has long been mastered by the government in the previous life, and everyone knows it. When it was moved to the Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago, it was naturally unfavorable.

"Does the general want to take down his post and take over the private management of the salt field?" Salt Supervisor An asked carefully, his voice trembling involuntarily. Of course he knew that there was a lot of money in the private management of the salt field. If it were left to him, that would be It's a pie in the sky and it hits me on the head.

"Yes, otherwise why would you be promoted to an official?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "But you are just the judge, the person in charge is another person, and you are the co-organizer!"

"Thank you for the promotion, General!" An Yanjian lowered his head to prevent Wang Wenzuo from seeing the disappointment in his eyes. Wang Wenzuo's appointment was reasonable. He would definitely not give such a lucrative job in salt affairs to a newcomer like himself. At most, he would be a deputy. For him, it would be like burning incense in his ancestral graves.

When the Salt Supervision officials retreated, Wang Wenzuo waved and asked Lu Zhaolin to come closer: "Shengzhi, you will be in charge of the private affairs of the Yantian. You have also seen that these guys are all old slickers. You have to be careful. If anyone is playing tricks in front of you, just kill a few to establish your authority. Just prepare a replacement in advance!"

"General, you want me to go?" Lu Zhaoling was surprised.

"What's the matter, you don't want to go?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "This salt supervisor is very rich, and it is self-contained. It will be much more comfortable for you to go there than to stay with me as a penholder to write things."

"This -" Lu Zhaolin hesitated: "The general feels that I am no longer suitable to stay with you!"

"How could that be possible?" Wang Wenzuo laughed dumbly: "Shengzhi, you are overthinking. This job of supervising the salt is too important and cannot be done without close confidants. But there are only a few people around me, and the stalls are too spread out. Da, I can only use you, and it will also allow you to practice more so that you can go further in the future. If you really want to come back, then work as a salt supervisor for three years and wait for the two boys Sutuo and Yuanbao to gain experience. Now, let them do it for you!”

After hearing Wang Wenzuo say that his successor was his son, Lu Zhaoling nodded. He hesitated for a moment and whispered: "General, you just mentioned the two young masters Xutuo and Yuanbao, but the letters from Mr. Di and General Murong of Chang'an two days ago said that Mr. Hu Liang was going to Sichuan to quell the rebellion. What's your plan?"

"What's going on? What do you think?"

"I think it's absolutely impossible to do this because of my humble position!" Lu Zhaoling said: "On the battlefield, swords and guns have no eyesight. Since the engagement between Young Master Hu Liang and Princess Taiping has been concluded, we must not put Young Master Hu Liang in danger again."

"Well, what you said makes sense! But I plan to agree to Hu Liang!"

"What?" Lu Zhaolin was confused by Wang Wenzuo's contradictory answer, and hurriedly asked: "Why, why is this?"

"Mr. Lu, you should know that I have many children, and Hu Liang is just one of them!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "But among these children, Hu Liang is the one with the highest spirit. When he was on the island, he was the best among all the children. The only one who dares to compete with Yanliang one on one, no matter how many times he loses, he will be the first to stand up next time. Among the other children, there is no one like him! "

"General, what you mean is that Young Master Hu Liang went to Jiannan this time to compare with Young Master Yan Liang?"

"Well!" Wang Wenzuo: "When people get older, they like to think back to things in their youth. I often do this recently: many of the things I did when I was in Baekje, I wouldn't do it now if I changed it, because Now I no longer have that spirit. Since Hu Liang still has that spirit, don't stop him. How far he can go depends on him!"

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Jiannan Road, Mianzhou. The strong wind mixed with the drizzle whipped at Hu Liang's face. He clamped the horse's belly tightly to prevent himself from slipping off the saddle. He could hear muttered curses coming from beside him. These elite knights from Guanzhong, Longyou, Hebei, and even Liaodong were made wet and irritated by the sudden rainstorm. They had probably never seen such wet weather. weather. The mountain wind blows, picking up the leaves in the woods on both sides of the road, flying everywhere, it's like a ghost! Hu Liangjiang secretly thought, can those Taoist thieves really be able to communicate with ghosts and gods and control wind and rain?
He secretly hoped that the mules and horses behind him could still hold on. Before leaving Chang'an, Hu Liang kept hearing all kinds of bad news from Chengdu: the Taoist thieves were acting mysteriously, and the defenders in Chengdu were exhausted but unable to change. The situation is passive, and what is worse is that the Dangxiang and Bailan Qiang under the jurisdiction of the Songzhou Governor's Mansion north of Chengdu are also beginning to show signs of instability. Once they rebel, the Tubo people will follow them southward, and problems will arise at that time. But it’s not just a Jiannan Road.

Therefore, after receiving Wang Wenzuo's reply, Hu Liang immediately left Chang'an with 400 cavalrymen and three horses. He first went all the way to the west, arrived at Qizhou, then turned southwest, took Chencang Road to Lueyang, and then walked to Baocheng, Ning Qiang and Guangyuan passed through Jiange and entered Shu. After entering Sichuan, it started to rain continuously. It has rained continuously for four days now. The road has become more and more dangerous, with soft mud and gravel everywhere. The mountain wind picked up, and the rain fell into my eyes. The rain filled all the creeks and rivers, making them more dangerous. In some areas, they even had to dismount and lead the horses over steep slopes on foot.

At this time, Dingyue will definitely sit by the fire, listening to the palace musicians playing the pipa, and drinking mellow wine. The more Gu Liang thought about it, the more he envied his fiancée. His own soaked fur stuck to his body, making it wet and itchy, and his neck and shoulders ached unbearably from the weight of his helmet and weapons. What was even more uncomfortable was that he was completely fed up with the taste of all kinds of marching rations.

Ahead, the horn made a long and short sound, which was particularly blurry under the rain. "It's a scout!" Deputy General Hou Mo and Chen Ping shouted: "Something must have happened!"

"Everyone, stop your horses!" Hu Liang raised his right arm. The tired knights slowed down their horses and spread out to both sides of the road, forming a figure eight.

"Check the weapons, string the bow, and be careful not to get it wet!" Gu Liang said loudly.

In order to prevent the horn bow from getting damp, the bow bags on the saddles of these knights are made of fine bearskin, and the bow body and bow string are also coated with beeswax. In accordance with Hu Liang's order, they prepared their weapons, then opened the bag hanging around the horse's neck, grabbed the fine material from it and stuffed it into the horse's mouth, preparing for the battle.

"The Dao thieves are just a bunch of rabble! My knights can fight one against a hundred!" Hu Liang told himself in his heart, while nervously looking towards where the horn sound came from. Why haven't the scouts returned yet? Were they already surrounded? How many troops should you send to respond? Or wait a little longer? At this time, he couldn't help but feel confused.

"Sir, please wait here for a moment while your subordinates lead a few people to investigate!" Hou Mo and Chen Ping said.

Before Gu Liang could nod, the scout's second horn sounded, two long and one short. Gu Liang's nerves suddenly relaxed. The sound of the horn meant that the scout was not encountering an enemy.

"Great!" A knight laughed: "Anything would be good at this juncture, even a roof that can keep out the rain!"

"Yes, even if people can hold on, these animals can't hold on anymore!" Another knight sighed: "We can't fight on two legs, can we?"

These guys are right. Gu Liang stroked the neck of his mount. He already knew how to communicate with his mount when he was thirteen. The poor animal was already very tired. If he continued to run, he would probably He fell down and broke the knight's head.

"Commander!" Hu Liang shouted loudly: "Go to the back of the team and tell everyone to cheer up. No matter who you meet, you must show them what Master Wang looks like. Also, the officers must Tell everyone that any evil behavior is not allowed. Stealing will result in having your hands chopped off, and killing will result in beheading! Everyone must behave!"

"Yes, sir!" The orderer turned his horse's head and galloped away. Hu Liang turned around, and the orderer's shout was dragged out for a long time. There were only four hundred horses, and he couldn't see where the end of the team was. It was really Damn it.

After gathering the formation, Hu Liang led two columns of cavalry forward. The image of a stove and a hot soup bowl flashed subconsciously in his mind. He didn't ask for much, a piece of dry ground and a fire. , a roof to shelter from the rain, and a bowl of hot soup, this is all he wants.

Soon, Hu Liang met the scouts - and a small village. On a hill not far from the right side of the road, there is a pig pen, a barn, a vegetable garden, and a long house made of dirt and branches. The house had no windows, and all the light came from the door. The house was long and low, with rough beams and a grass roof. Rainwater flowed down from the roof of the thatched house and formed a small pool around the house. The overflowing water rushed down from the mound, forming a black torrent.

"I bet if the rain continues like this, this house will collapse in less than two days!"

The whispers of the soldiers behind him reached Huliang's ears. He admitted that the soldier's words were good, but he had to be kind to the old man and his family kneeling in front of him. After all, I still need to get the local situation from these local people.

"Everyone, get up!" Hu Liang looked at the timid old man and decided not to read out his long list of official titles: "I am a general from Chang'an. I rushed to Chengdu on the order of the emperor to suppress the Treasonous Taoist thieves. We came from afar and don’t know the situation in Chengdu. If I know, please tell me something!”

The old man carefully looked at the knights in front of him. The shining armor and weapons on their bodies all told the danger of the coming people. He suppressed the fear in his heart: "The little old man is a farmer. I don't know what is a thief or not. Please forgive me, General!"

Hu Liang looked at the old man and decided to give up the futile inquiry. He turned around and saw that his subordinates had already lined up their horses and were busy setting up tents. Two of his subordinates had already gone straight to the pig pen. It seemed that he would be able to eat fresh meat later. He looked at the area inside the longhouse and curled his lips in disappointment.

Well, now that about thirty of us were able to stay warm and dry, Moriyo concluded that maybe fifty people could be accommodated. However, this place is too small, definitely not enough for two hundred people to sleep, so most people will definitely have to stay outside. But where should they live? In this messy courtyard, apart from ankle-deep puddles, there is just wet mud. It seemed that another gloomy night was waiting in front of me.

"These are for you!" Hu Liang took out two gold cakes from his pocket and threw them to the old man: "Now your house, the pigs in the pigsty, and the vegetable garden all belong to us. My people will be there tomorrow Leave and give you the house, the pigsty and the vegetable garden."